


Snowed In

by jewelianna88



Category: Young Americans (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-23
Updated: 2011-04-23
Packaged: 2017-10-18 13:48:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/189519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jewelianna88/pseuds/jewelianna88
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Episode-style fic.  The gang gets snowed in a Rawley.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Snowed In

Hamilton was heading down the hall towards Jake’s room when he heard her voice. He was surprised, because she was using her girl voice, and she was using it loudly.

“So what you’re saying is that extending the tour had nothing to do with the desires of the lead actress? You couldn’t tell them you had plans you couldn’t change?” Hamilton stopped just outside her door. Jake was supposed to be going home to New York for fall break tomorrow, and this did not sound good. He hesitated knocking as she started to speak again.

“Yes, yes, I’ll be fine. I always am. See you at Christmas, if you think you will be in the country by then.” Hamilton paused for a minute to make sure she was off the phone, and then opened the door. Jake was lying on her bed, crying into her pillow.

“Aww, baby, don’t cry.” He walked over to her and began to rub her back above the top of her corset.

“I should have known. But when she made the effort to come to parents’ weekend, I thought she had changed. I thought I was important. But it’s not true, she’s the same as she always was.” Jake took a deep breath, and sat up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m such a wreck.” She tried to smile. “So, I guess you are stuck with me this weekend.”

Hamilton smiled. “We’ll have fun.” When she looked away, he reached over to stroke her cheek and turned her face back. The tears were still falling, slowly, gut-wrenchingly. He would do anything to make them stop. He kissed her forehead and pulled her so she snuggled against his chest. “And really, this isn’t so bad. We’ll be all alone here in the dorms, have the run of the place. We can go walk around, look at the foliage or something without worrying about being seen. It’ll be fun.”

She sniffed. “I hadn’t thought of that. It will be nice. How do you do that?” She asked, suddenly sitting bolt upright, turning to face him.

“Do what?” Hamilton looked confused.

“Make me feel better when all I want to do is curl up and die.”

“Oh, tha-at. Well, I love you.” He said it so innocently it melted her heart. She leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you too” she said, with her lips still pressed against his.

**

“So, I guess it’s just you and me this weekend.” Scout came into the room where Will was reading.

“What do you mean, I thought you were going home.” Will put down his book and sat up, folding his hands between his knees. “What happened to confronting your dad about Bella during an end of the season golf game?”

“Apparently the reelection. My dad has decided to do one last campaign tour across the state. He asked me to join him but I really hate shaking hands with thousands of people. Besides, he’s pretty much running uncontested so he’s gonna win anyway. So, I’ll be here.”

“Hey, that’s fine with me. I’m certainly not going home when I have this place to myself. Big screen TV, Playstation, massive library, not to mention minimal supervision.”

“You’d better watch it, you’re turning into one of us.” Scout smiled. “Soon you’ll get a yearning to play golf every Sunday after brunch at the club” he said with am upper crust British accent.

Will tossed his book at Scout.

“Ok, just kidding. I’ve got class anyway. Wanna order a pizza for dinner after, celebrate the halfway point of the semester?”

“Yeah, sounds good. I have a thing to do first, but later, definitely.”

“A thing? Does she have a name?”

Will picked up another book and held it ready to let it fly.

“Alright, alright, I’m going. See ya when I see ya.”

**

“Knock, knock” Bella stuck her head in the door and glanced around. “Will?

“Hey Bella.” Will climbed off the bed and opened the door. “Get in here before someone sees you.”

“Thank you so much for helping me with the paper. I don’t know why I have to analyze all these stupid poems anyway, I mean, it’s not like they are going to help me fix cars or anything.” Bella grinned. “So, where’s….?” She glanced around as she struggled out of her jacket and gloves.

“Scout? He’s in class until four. Bella, you gotta tell him. You can’t just keep avoiding him forever.”

“I know. It’s just….It’s just that now that I know we aren’t related, it’s like I’m afraid of how he is going to react. I mean, he seems to be different lately. Maybe he doesn’t like me anymore.”

“Bella….”

“No, really Will, I mean, I want to tell him, but there is no way I could handle the rejection of knowing that we went through all of this and still aren’t going to be together.” Bella sighed. “Come on, we have to get to work.”

“Bella, I am going to show you something that you have to promise you will NEVER TELL anyone about, OK? Cause I think Scout is really afraid of what is going on in his head right now, but I think you need to know this.” Bella looked up at him and brushed her hair behind her ear.

“What are you talking about, Krudski?”

Will walked over to Scout’s bed and lifted the pillow. He pulled out a picture and handed it to Bella. She glanced down and saw a picture of her, taken the last day of summer, when Scout was trying to use up a roll of film with pictures from St. Martin on it. She was sitting on the hood of her truck, which was still pretty much in ruins but slowly looking a little bit better.

“What are you telling me, Will? That Scout has some photo of me? Big deal, I have pictures of him, and you and Sean and everyone, all over my room.” Bella handed the picture back to Will, and bit her lip, not wanting to know what it really meant.

“Bella, he keeps you picture under his pillow. The boy is in love with you, but he is so afraid cause he still thinks you are his sister. He is beating himself up inside because of it, you have to tell him.”

“Ok, Ok. I will tell him. I just have to find the right time. Now come on, I want to get home before dark.” Bella opened her notebook and Will picked up some of the papers she had brought and sat down beside her.

**

“OK, so basically you compare the way the night is viewed in the two poems, and you’ll be able to get your paper done in no time.” Will snapped shut the book and handed it back to Bella. “Think you get handle it?”

“Yes, Will, thank you. I had no idea how I was supposed to handle this. She glanced down at her watch. “Oh my God, I had no idea how late it was. I better be getting home.”

“Probably not going to happen.”

Will and Bella looked up to see Scout at the door, covered in snow and shivering.

“I barely made it back here from the science building. There is no way you are walking all the way into town.” He brushed off his shoulders and unzipped his coat. “What are you doing here anyway.”

Bella ran over to the windows. The snow was blowing hard.

“I needed Will’s help with something” she said offhand. She turned around.

“It wasn’t supposed to snow today. Where did this come from? It’s not even November yet, for God’s sake.”

Will shrugged. “I dunno. But what are you going to do? I mean, there is no way you are going to walk back to the gas station, you don’t even have boots on. None of us have a car, and you can’t stay here all night.”

“A car wouldn’t do much good anyway, the airport van left an hour ago, kids got pulled out of class so they wouldn’t miss their flights. The van left right when the snow was starting. I don’t think the roads are clear enough to drive on now.” Scout pulled off his wet shoes and threw them into the closet. “I guess the pizza’s out of the question.”

Will and Bella gave him a dirty look.

“Will, what am I going to do?” Bella looked panicky. “I can’t let them find me here.”

“Look, just relax. Stay put. I’ll go see if I can find a weather report or something.” He got up and headed out into the hall. “Talk to Scout for a while.” He raised his eyebrows, indicating he knew what she should be talking to Scout about, and left.

Scout was sitting on the bed staring after Will. He turned his head and looked quizzically at Bella. “Talk to me about what?”

**

“Mr. Krudski.” Finn called as Will raced past him down the hall. “Where’s the fire?”

“Did you know it was snowing?” Will asked as he turned.

Finn smiled. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I did. And, unfortunately, that means that Dean Fleming and his wife are stuck in Carson at the educators’ luncheon. They are staying in a hotel for the night, so it looks like I am in charge here. Have you seen Hamilton, I was just on my way to tell him.”

“No, sorry. Try Jake’s room.” Will kept going down the hallway then turned. “Wait, you’re in charge all night?”

“It appears so. Don’t plan any wild parties though. It’s fall break, if you remember. Only three people are supposed to be here: you, Scout, and Jake. And now apparently Hamilton as well.”

“Thank God.”

Finn looked at him, confused.

“See, I have this problem that the Dean is going to flip if he finds out about.”

“I don’t like the sound of that Will.”

“It’s not what you think. See, I am tutoring a friend from home who is struggling in English.”

Finn still looked confused. “And the dean wouldn’t like that because…”

“Well, the storm blew up while we were studying and my friend is pretty much stuck here.”

Finn nodded. “And needs to stay over. It seems there are plenty of beds around. I think we can overlook this just this once. These are rather extenuating circumstances.”

Will put his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Well, there is one other thing…. see, my friend is, well, female.”

Finn raised his eyebrows. “Will, you know there are no girls allowed in the dorms. You could get in serious trouble for this.”

“I know, but she is like my sister, I have known her forever and have always helped her in English, and now that I am here, I don’t get into town to help her as much, so today she came here. I thought she would be out by dinner time, but then the storm blew in….”

Finn sighed. “Why do I always get stuck with these things? Ok, I won’t tell the dean, but please, don’t let this happen again. Now I have to go and find Hamilton and tell him his parents are not going make it back.”

“Make sure you knock first.” Will called as he headed back to his room. Finn raised and eyebrow and continued down the hall.

**

Jake typed a few lines, and suddenly the page she was looking for popped up on her computer.

“See, I told you I could access the WB network’s mainframe. I can do anything here, reprogram their shows, change the commercials…”

Hamilton smiled. “Good. Cause there are some serious changes that I want to make there.” He reached for the mouse just as there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.” Jake closed the top of her laptop and turned in her desk chair.

Finn walked in with a look of relief on his face that the two were sitting at the desk.

“Hamilton, I just got off the phone with your parents. They are stuck in Carson and said you are to stay in the dorms tonight. I’m going to be your resident supervisor for the evening.”

Hamilton looked up at him. “Stay in the dorms? Where am I supposed to sleep, on the sofa?” He was not pleased that his house was empty and he and Jake couldn’t utilize it.

“There are plenty of beds here, everyone is gone. Well, except you two, Scout and Will, and now apparently Will’s friend.”

“Will’s friend?” Jake glanced up at Finn.

“Some girl from town. It seems she was snowed in.”

“Bella.” Jake knew Will was helping her in English. Suddenly, Jake’s face lit up with an idea. “Wait, Finn, are you sure that is all who are here? I mean, no one else is in the dorms, right?”

“That’s right.” Finn didn’t like where this was headed.

“Ok, I don’t want to freak you out or anything, but can I be a girl tonight?”

Finn burst out laughing. “Can you be a girl. I must say that is the most interesting question I have heard in weeks. Yes, Ms. Pratt, you can be a girl tonight. But I don’t want you and Hamilton sleeping in this room together, capisce?

“Capisce.” Jake jumped up and hugged Finn, who looked completely taken aback.

“Oops. Sorry.” She let him go. “I got carried away.”

Finn just turned and walked out. It was going to be a very, very strange night.

**

“Bella? Talk to me about what?” Scout was still staring at her. Bella had blanked out, staring out the window.

“What? Oh, um, there’s just some stuff going on that I wanted to run by you. You know. But it can wait.” She started pacing around.

“Well, we’re sitting here now, so why don’t you just tell me?”

Bella sat down on Will’s bed and bit her lip. “Well, um, you know how Grace is always rummaging through the attic looking for stuff of my mom’s to wear?”

“No, I actually didn’t know that.” Scout was totally confused.

“Yeah, she has this thing with my mom’s old skirts and stuff, and there are just boxes and boxes of them up there. Grace gets so mad cause all of the shoes are too small, which is a shame cause my mom had so many.” Bella smiled thinking of Grace’s temper tantrums about old shoes. “But that’s not the point. See, she found this box way in the back that had some other stuff, books, and jewelry and stuff. And it had my mom’s old journals in it.”

Scout just looked at her. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because, Scout...” But she was cut off as Will walked in.

“Ok, it’s all set. Finn’s in charge tonight and he said you could stay here cause the dorms are empty for fall break….and obviously I’ve interrupted something.” He glanced between the two of them. “I’ll just go out into the common room and...”

“No, stay.” Bella jumped up and grabbed his arm. “It’s OK. We weren’t talking about anything important.”

Scout just sat there, kind of in shock.

Will hesitated, but he saw the pleading look in Bella’s eyes and sighed. “OK. What do you say we all head out into the common room and watch some TV?”

**

“The question isn't "what are we going to do," the question is "what aren't we going to do?”

Bella smiled. “Scout, that is so easy. Ferris Buhler’s Day Off. Ok, I have one… ‘It was nice meeting you. Surreal but nice’.”

“Dude, you guys have way too much free time.” Will just shook his head and turned off the TV. They had been watching the Weather Channel and still no news about the storm. It seemed to have blown in off Cape Cod and taken everyone by surprise.

Scout was looking perplexed. “Oh, I know this one. I know it.” He sat up and leaned his head on his hands. “I really know this. I can see it in my head. It’s got Julia Roberts in it.”

Bella laughed at the agony Scout was going through trying to figure this out. “Not good enough, Master Scout. You have to give the title.”

“Notting Hill! Right?” Scout looked overly proud of himself.

“Yup. That’s it. So now, challenge me. Something hard.” Suddenly the lights flickered and died.

“Oh, this is not good.” Scout said. “This is not good at all.”

“Just chill out, the backup generators should kick in soon, right?” Will didn’t sound so sure of himself.

A light came bobbing down the hallway. “Will? Scout?” Finn called out into the darkness.

“Yeah, we’re in here.” Finn arrived and shone the light across the three of them.

“Ah, our mystery guest,” he said, settling the light on Bella. “I’m Finn, your supervisor for the evening.” He flicked the flashlight up under his chin giving his face an eerie glow

Bella blushed. “Bella Banks. I am so sorry about this. Thank you so much for letting me stay. I had no idea it was going to start snowing or I never would have come all the way up here.”

Finn smiled in the dark. “Not a problem, we just have to get you out of here before the dean shows up tomorrow. I assume someone at home knows where you are and that you are staying?”

“Yup, I called my dad.”

“Ok then.”

Just then, another light came down the hall. Finn shined his light toward it, illuminating Hamilton and Jake. Jake had changed into a pair of girl’s jeans and a sweater, but it was hard to tell in the dark.

“Well, we’re all here now.” Finn gave Jake a quick once over, it was the first time he had seen her in girl’s clothes. He then glanced around the room.

“The backup generator should have come on by now. I am going to head down to the basement to check it out. Why don’t you boys head out to the wood pile next to the dining hall and bring us in enough to get a fire going. Girls, see if you can find some more flashlights, maybe some candles.”

Scout looked out the window and then at Finn. “You want us to go outside? In this?” Will just shrugged and got up, and Hamilton headed towards the door.

Jake through herself over the arm of the chair Will had just vacated. “God, I love being a girl.”

Scout realized for the first time that Jake was dressed as a girl. “Oh, now that’s not fair!” he complained.

Finn looked annoyed. “Mr. Calhoun, unless you are going to tell me that you are also a girl in disguise- and please don’t tell me that- I suggest you head out for that wood. It’s going to get cold in here very soon if the generator doesn’t come on.”

Hamilton gave Jake a kiss on the cheek. “Check the desk drawers in the library for matches. And I think there are some candles in there too” he told her. Then he headed out through the patio doors with Will and Scout close behind. Finn headed down into the basement.

“Oh, my god, I am so glad you are here!” Jake told Bella. “I thought I was going to be stuck here alone with the guys all weekend.”

“Yeah, what’s up with your outfit? Is Finn cool with that?”

Jake looked sheepish. “I don’t really know how he feels. I asked him, but he seems very weirded out.”

“I’ll bet. Come on, lets go find some light.”

The two headed towards the library, holding hands and feeling their way along the walls.

**

The guys clumped back in with arms of wood, which they dropped unceremoniously in front of the stone fireplace making a ton of noise. Bella and Jake came running back, each with a flashlight in each hand.

“What was that? Are you guys OK?” Bella and Jake asked simultaneously. The saw the wood pile at the guys feet, looked at each other, and rolled their eyes.

Hamilton crossed the room to Jake. He wrapped his arms around her. “Baby, it’s cold outside” he said and put his hands on the back of her neck.

“EEEKKK!” she screeched, and pulled away. He started chasing her until she bumped into a bookcase.

“Oh, wow, stars” she said, as she put her hand to her head. Hamilton didn’t say a word, he just picked her up and carried her to the couch.

“You OK, Jake?” Will asked.

“Yeah, just give me a minute to make the room stop spinning” she replied.

“Come on, lets get that fire going.” Hamilton said. Bella handed him a package of matches from her pocket. Hamilton went to work on the fire and soon the room was glowing with flickering light and heat. They dragged the furniture in the room to form a “U” shape around the fireplace. Bella and Will sat on one couch, Hamilton on another with Jake laying with her head in his lap, and Scout slung himself sideways across a leather easy chair.

"Everything looks so pretty now, with the fire and the snow outside.” Bella said.

“Yeah. Peaceful.” Will replied. “Snow never seemed peaceful when we were little. It was an adventure, the promise of hours of playing outside and no school.” He looked over at Bella. “Remember how we always had to be the first ones on the hill to go sledding on the first snowfall of the season?” He turned to the group. “Bella, Sean, and I would always get up real early in the morning to be the first ones down the hill on days it snowed. It was great. Bella was such a daredevil. She had this old toboggan….”

“Oh, no, Will, do NOT tell that story.” Bella looked afraid of what Will was going to say.

“No we, want to hear this.” Scout replied. Jake and Hamilton nodded in agreement.

Bella hid her face in a pillow as Will continued.

“She had this really old, heavy toboggan we would all race on. Anyway, the best hill in town leads right onto the lake, so it is really hard to stop at the bottom. Parents never take their kids their cause it is so dangerous, but when we were ten we decided we were old enough to handle it, so we snuck out before dawn the first night it snowed to try it. We weren’t able to stop at the bottom and ended up flying way out onto the ice. Except it was an early snow, like this one, and as soon as we stopped, the ice just cracked and we fell right in. Sean and I just took off swimming for shore in our big bulky snowsuits, but Bella decided she needed to save the toboggan and started diving in after it. It took both of us to get her out of the water and we were sick for like a week after.”

Everyone was laughing by the time Will was done.

“You really tried to dive to the bottom of the lake for a sled?” Hamilton asked.

“Yup.” Bella was blushing deep red. “And if you could have seen my dad’s face when we told him what had happened to his sled you would’ve tried too. His father had made that toboggan.” She got up and wandered over to the windows to look down at the lake. “I wonder if it is still down there.”

Everyone was silent for a moment. Finn walked up the hallway but paused in the doorway, not wanting to interrupt the group.

Hamilton was the first to speak. “I never really went sledding around here. It’s not something that is really enjoyable alone. I was more a snowball guy.”

Scout raised his eyebrows. “A snowball guy?”

“Yeah. Snowballs and water balloons were my only weapons against the Rawley guys when I was little. When I was like, 12, I was in love with just about every girl here, and I would do anything to get their attention. So I devised this great scheme to build up this huge arsenal of snowballs in my bedroom and just pummel any guy who walked by with a group of girls. It was great, cause none of them would dare through a snowball back at the deans house, and the girls would laugh and smile at me. I was in heaven. Of course, I usually got locked in the garden shed the next day, but at the time it was totally worth it.”

The group laughed and then fell silent again.

Jake looked out the window and then stared into the fire. “My dad always took me ice skating in Central Park on the first snow of the year. He’d come home from work early and we’d go rent skates. I was such a klutz but he could just glide. He would let me ride around on his shoulders and spin in circles.”

Everyone was quiet, looking at Jake. Hamilton looked down at her. “I’ve never heard you talk about your dad before.”

She was silent for a moment. “He died in a car accident when I was 7. I don’t have a lot of memories of him, but skating on the first snow, we always did that.” She sounded kind of sad.

“I never had any rituals with my dad like that.” Scout said. “He was always away in Hartford during the winter. I spend all of my time begging my brother Paul to take me snowmobiling in Vermont with him.”

Finn finally decided to speak up. “You have a brother named Paul?” he said as he walked into the room.

Scout sat up alarmed. “Oh, no Finn, I know what you’re thinking, don’t say it….”

Finn just cracked up. “Your parents named their sons Paul and Simon?” He was laughing so hard he could barely get the words out.

“Simon?” All four of the others looked at Scout.

“Your name is Simon?” Will asked. “How could I have not known about this?”

Scout pouted. “You try to keep something a secret, and it just never works. Yes, my name is Simon thanks to my parents’ obsession with their hippie music. And just for the record, the dog was named Garfunkel. Happy now?

Everyone just cracked up. Bella had tears rolling down her face, and Will actually fell off of the couch, which caused even more laughter.

When it finally died down, Finn spoke first. “I can’t seem to get the generator working. Can I recruit one of you to come and hold the light for me?”

“Sure, no problem.” Will got up and the two headed out.

Bella, Scout, Jake, and Hamilton sat silently for a while. Bella looked over and caught Jake’s eye.

‘Leave’ Jake mouthed to Bella and wiggled her eyebrows. Bella got the hint.

“Hey Scout, lets go find something to eat.”

“Yeah, OK.” Scout replied. He got up out of the chair and stretched. “You guys wanna come?” He turned to Jake and Hamilton, who were busy staring into each others’ eyes. “Probably not.”

He and Bella left towards the kitchen to find some snacks, leaving Jake and Hamilton sitting alone in front of the fire.

**

Jake and Hamilton sat in silence for a while looking at the fire. Hamilton ran his fingers through her hair, which was gel-free for once. She reached up and took his hand in hers, linking their fingers. He leaned down to give her a light kiss and smiled sweetly.

“I love you, you know that, right?” he said.

She cocked her head a bit, to look at him at a better angle. “Of course, I know. I love you too.”

“And you know you can talk to me. About anything.” Hamilton continued.

Jake sat up and straddled his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eye. “Where is this coming from?” She paused. “Is this because I never told you anything about my dad?”

Hamilton looked down. She put her forehead to his and pushed his head back up so they were eye to eye. She reached her arms down to his hands and held them both together in hers.

“I’ve never told anyone what happened with him. It’s just really hard for me to talk about. Don’t think I am deliberately keeping it from you. Cause I’m not. You know me better than any other person on this planet. I trust you with all my secrets. This is just…. really hard for me to talk about.” She started shaking her hands, as words escaped her.

Hamilton leaned forward and kissed her. She looked like she might start crying.

“Hey, Jacqueline, don’t get upset. I don’t want to pressure you to talk about something you don’t want to. Just know I am here, you know, if you ever want to talk.” He pulled her close to his chest in a hug.

“He used to call me Jake.” Jake whispered over Hamilton’s shoulder. “Well, actually Jack, but when I was little I couldn’t say Jack and it always came out Jake. That’s how I got my name.”

“Really? See, at least you can tie your name to some great memory. Hamilton was my grandmother’s maiden name, and my parents thought it would honor her to give me that name. I don’t think they realized the disastrous results of giving your child a name that could be abbreviated as a meat.”

“Aww. Well, if you hate your name so much, we could always call you Munchie.” Jake pulled back and looked him in the eye, smiling now.

“Don’t call me that!” Hamilton whined. He started tickling her and the two laughed and fought until Jake ended up laying down on the couch with Hamilton stretched out over her.

“Grrrr.” He looked down at her and growled, causing her to smile. She reached a hand up to the back of his neck guided his head down to hers for a kiss.

‘Aren’t you glad you’re here this weekend?” Hamilton asked when their lips finally separated.

She didn’t say a word in reply, just reached up and pulled his face down to hers again for another kiss.

**

Meanwhile, Will and Finn were crouched in the basement working on the generator.

“These cables are totally corroded.” Finn said. “There is no way this is going to work tonight.”

He stood up and brushed off his jeans. Will did the same.

“So, looks like we are stuck in the dark.” Will said, with a little laugh. He shifted his stance a little, uncomfortably. “Hey, Finn, thanks again for not getting upset about the whole Bella thing.”

Finn smiled. “I should be upset. But, I know how hard you are trying to live in two worlds- here and in town. It’s a generous thing you are doing, helping her. And she seems like a nice girl. You sure you two aren’t…”

Will kind of blushed. “Nah, really, she’s just a friend. Besides, I think Scout would kill me if we were.” He muttered the last part, but Finn still heard.

Finn raised an eyebrow. “Scout? So, you’re telling me I left two teenage couples alone upstairs in the dark?” He turned around and headed for the stairs. “We had better get back up there. I didn’t want to leave Hamilton and Jake…err, Jacqueline, alone too long.”

Will laughed. “Jacqueline. I still can’t get used to that. I don’t understand how she does it. I would go crazy trying to remember how to act all the time.” They got to the top of the stairs and started down the hallway.

Finn grinned. “Given a lot of thought to cross-dressing, have you?”

“No, no, God no. It just must be tough, I mean.” He shrugged. “Mostly, I’m just jealous that Hamilton gets to have his girlfriend around all the time.”

Finn laughed at that. “Your day will come, Mr. Krudski, and I have a feeling when you fall, it’s gonna be hard. Love has a way of catching us unsuspecting. Just look at Jake and Hamilton.”

Will was getting a little weirded out talking about his love life with his teacher, even if he did like Finn. “Yeah” was all he said in reply.”

The two rounded the corner toward the common room. At first, it looked empty, but they heard noises coming from one of the sofas. Finn walked around and saw Hamilton and Jake lying on the sofa making out. Hamilton had his hand under Jake’s shirt.

“Ah-hem, ah-ah-hem.” Finn cleared his throat loudly.

Jake pushed Hamilton hard on the chest and he toppled off of her onto the floor. He landed with a thud, causing Will to chuckle a little bit. Hamilton looked annoyed as he stared up at Finn but his facial expression changed to one of a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar as soon as he saw Finn’s face. Jake looked up as well, blushing deep red.

“Sorry…sorry.” Jake said. Hamilton glanced down at the wood floor guiltily.

Finn just shook his head.

“Where are Scout and Bella?” Will asked.

“Oh, they, ah, went to find food, or, something.” Jake replied.

Hamilton picked himself up off of the floor and sat down next to Jake on the couch. He draped an arm over her shoulders and stared at Finn, as if daring him to say something.

Finn decided to ignore it. “Why don’t I go and look for them.” He headed out of the room towards the kitchen.

Jake let out a huge sigh of relief when he was gone. “Ok, that’s twice that he has caught us like that. How many more times is Finn going to let us get away with this?”

Hamilton just shrugged. He leaned over to kiss Jake. Will rolled his eyes and sat down on the other sofa. Jake swatted Hamilton away, nodding towards Will, the look in her eyes saying ‘not now.’

“So, Will, what happened with the generator…”

**

Scout and Bella searched through the kitchen cupboards looking for something to eat.

“Isn’t there anything in here that isn’t canned?” Bella asked. She hopped up onto the counter to get a better view of the higher shelves. “Hand me that flashlight, will you?” she asked Scout.

He walked over and handed her the light.

“I think I see something back here,” Bella said. She stretched up on her tiptoes to lean forward and grab something from the back of the cupboard. Suddenly, she lost her balance.

“Whoa, whoa!”

She tried to grab onto the cupboard door to steady herself, but ended up toppling over backward…right into Scouts arms. He caught her as she fell from the counter and stood there with her cradled in her arms, their faces inches apart. Bella could feel his breath on her cheek and his heart beating against her chest. She couldn’t help herself. She tipped her head forward and kissed him. Their lips touched in a moment of electricity before Scout snapped out of it and set her feet on the ground.

"Bella, you can’t. We can’t.” He was completely flustered between his heart and his head sending him very different messages.

Bella pushed her hair back and turned away from him.

“Actually, Scout, that is what I was trying to tell you before.” She struggled for words. She bent down to pick up the flashlight that had fallen to the floor, and a box of oyster crackers, the mysterious object she had been reaching for.

“Let’s sit down.” She said. Scout grabbed a couple of Cokes from the fridge and the two sat at the table with the flashlight between them aimed at the ceiling, giving the room a soft glow. Bella sat at the head of the table and Scout to her immediate right. Scout didn’t say a word- he just stared at Bella. She looked up from her drink to meet his eyes, and then looked down again. Scout reached out across the table and took her hand in his. She looked at their joined hand and took a deep breath.

“See, Grace found all these journals of my mom’s. From high school, all the way up until she left. And she wrote down everything. I don’t know why my dad never saw them, except he was so upset when she left that he just boxed everything up real fast and stuck it up in the attic.”

She paused to take a breath. Scout, for once, didn’t have anything to say. He just waited for her to continue.

“I started reading them. From the beginning. My mom was always pretty wild. Anyway… she never slept with your dad Scout.”

He let out a deep breath, one he felt he had been holding since the beginning of the summer, but let her continue.

“See, it was Rawley homecoming weekend, and a bunch of the alumni had come into the bar in town where she worked. She and my dad- Charlie- had gotten into a huge fight and she was looking for a way to get back at him. So she threw herself at your dad. They left together, and he walked her home, but he wouldn’t come in. That left her even more angry, and later on she went back to the bar and told everyone that she had just had sex with John Calhoun.”

Bella had tears coming down her face. Scout lifted her hands and kissed them. He was still in shock, and wondering why she was so upset when this was possibly the happiest moment of his life.

“It’s not true, Scout. We’re not related.” Scout pulled her off of her chair and into her lap. She sat facing the same direction as he. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Bella…this is good news, right?” He was getting worried that she was so upset about this.

“Yeah. I mean, I guess. Not having to worry about the whole incest thing is a relief. I was afraid we were going to have to move to some hill-billy mountain in West Virginia to be together or something.” She tried to smile.

“So, then, why are you crying? ‘Cause those don’t look like happy tears to me.” All Scout could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her. There was nothing he had ever wanted more in his life. Here was the girl he loved, who was now completely accessible to him, sitting on his lap in the dark…and she was crying. He didn’t know what to do but he knew he would never be completely happy while she was so upset.

“I didn’t exactly finish the whole story. See, she wrote that my dad’s best friend ended up taking her home again, and well, he wasn’t as gentlemanly as your dad.”

She shifted so she could look at Scout.

“I knew my dad, Scout. He lived down the street. He came to my house to watch Monday Night Football with my dad. He took Grace and I trick-or-treating dressed as a vampire every year. I knew him. I talked with him, hugged him…and I never knew.”

“Aww, Bella. How could you? You were only a kid.” He rocked her back and forth a little to try and calm her down.

“Does he still live here?” Scout asked gently, not knowing how deeply he should probe into this.

“No. He moved away the…the same year my mom left.” She grew silent.

Scout didn’t know how to reply. “So, are you OK with this? I mean…Where do you want to go from here?”

Bella looked at him. “I don’t know Scout. I mean, we’ve been though so much about this, and it’s been a long time since summer. I don’t know.”

Scout couldn’t take it anymore. He eased her back into her chair and looked deeply into her eyes. The glowed with the reflection of the flashlight and the moisture left from her tears.

“I’m going to kiss you,” he said. “And it’s not going to be the kind of kiss you give your sister. So if you don’t want that, you had better say something fast.”

“I can’t think of anything that I want more” she replied and smiled.

Scout took her face in his hands. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers. She leaned into him, increasing the pressure until finally she opened her mouth to his. Months of suppressed emotions came flooding out between them, sweeping them away in a moment of such intense passion that when they finally pulled apart they were both breathless. Her hands rested on his chest, measuring his heartbeats until they matched her own. She looked up to meet Scout’s eyes, and he saw she was crying again.

He brushed away a tear with the pad of his thumb “Hey, what’s wrong? I thought...” She silenced him by placing a finger on his lips.

“We’ve waited so long for that. And it’s over. All the uncertainty, all of the wondering, all of the self-denial.”

He silenced her by kissing her again. “I know, baby. I know”

**

That was how Finn found them, kissing at the table.

“This is not my night,” he thought.

“Ah-hem.” He cleared his throat loudly. The two jumped apart. He raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between them. Bella turned beet red, while Scout just kind of smiled.

“Hey Finn. Want a cracker?”

“No, thanks. Having fun, Mr. Calhoun?”

“Umm, yeah. Listen, this isn’t what it looks like, OK?”

Finn held up a hand. “Save the explanations, alright? I’m not interested. What do you say you just head back to the common room?”

“Yeah, OK.” Scout got up and held a hand to Bella, who took it and followed Scout out to the room. She mumbled ‘sorry’ as she passed Finn, who just smiled a little. He turned to follow them, but stopped to grab the flashlight and a handful of crackers.

**

The gang reconvened in the common room and sat down again. This time, however, Scout and Bella took the second sofa. Will kind of raised his eyebrows as the two sat down, and Jake and Hamilton exchanged a look with each other, but no one said a word. Finn sat down in a chair outside of the circle and began reading by candlelight.

“So, Simon, where’s our food?” Hamilton asked, with a wicked grin on his face.

Scout just stared at him for a minute. “There wasn’t any, Munchie. Tell your dad he needs to restock the cupboards.”

“Hey, guys, don’t start.” Jake interjected.

They all sat there for a few minutes in silence.

“Man, this is boring.” Scout fidgeted, bouncing his leg a little. Bella put her hand on his thigh to stop it.

“You think so?” she asked. “I don’t know. It’s kind of nice to be, like, isolated from the real world for a while. No distractions, you know? It’s like…a stolen season.”

Finn looked up and smiled. ‘This girl is pretty eloquent for someone who is being tutored in English’ he thought.

Jake smiled at her. “Shakespeare in Love.”

“Huh?” Hamilton looked confused.

“ ‘A stolen season’. It’s a line from Shakespeare in Love.” Jake replied.

“You must know that movie pretty well, huh, Jake?” Will laughed as he said this.

“I’m living it.” She replied with a smile.

“Is it hard?” Scout asked. “The double life, I mean.” Scout had his arm wrapped around Bella’s waist as she leaned against him, her feet tucked up under her. He gestured with his other hand. “I mean, you can’t like it too much cause at the first opportunity you change back into a girl.”

She sat up and looked at him. “It can be hard. Really hard. Sometimes I just want to scream with frustration or die worrying that someone is going to find out. But it’s also really cool. Knowing that I have this huge secret can be really exhilarating. I don’t know how to explain it.” She paused. “Why the sudden interest. Are you thinking of becoming a drag queen, Calhoun?”

Hamilton groaned. “That is something I never want to see.”

Will laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think Scout could pull it off as well as you.”

Scout smirked a little. “Thanks. No, I was just curious, that’s all. I guess it was the way you’re dressed or something.”

Hamilton looked concerned and glared at Scout. “You’re not checking out my girlfriend are you? Cause I might have to kill you for that.” Jake gave him a look for being so domineering, but she was kind of surprised. It was the first time he had been jealous of another guy around her.

Scout looked down at Bella. He answered Jake without looking up. “No offense, Jake, but to me you’ll always be one of the guys. Besides, I have a thing for blondes.”

Bella smiled up at him, and Jake laughed. “That’s fine,” she said. “I don’t think I could handle more than one secret boyfriend anyway.”

Everyone laughed at the horrified look on Hamilton’s face. Jake squeezed his chin in her hand and smiled.

“I’m kidding” she said and kissed him quickly.

“Not funny.” He replied and tried to kiss her again, but she pulled back, knowing that the others really didn’t want to sit through another public display of affection.

Everyone quieted down again, and sat looking at each other or into the fire.

“Hey, the snow stopped.” Bella said a few minutes late when she glanced out the window.”

“Really?” Jake, Hamilton, and Scout got up and ran over to the window.

“Wow, there must be, like, four and a half feet out there.” Hamilton peered through the glass.

Scout reached down and found the patio doors unlocked. He suddenly bounded back to the couch and grabbed Bella by the waist. Will saw what he was doing and jumped up and grabbed her feet. The two carried her over to the doors.

“No, no, guys, no it’s cold out there and I don’t have any dry clothes, Nooooo!” Bella cried.

Finn started to get up to stop them, but it was too late. Will and Scout swung Bella back and forth a couple times and then dropped her in a huge snowdrift. Jake and Hamilton wandered out behind them holding hands, laughing as Bella sat up covered in snow.

“Oh, you are so going to pay for that.” Bella started throwing snowballs with remarkable accuracy. One hit Will right in the face, and another caught Scout in the back of his neck as he ran away, and slid down his back.

Hamilton and Jake just laughed. Hamilton dropped Jake’s hand to help Bella out of the drift. She got up and brushed the loose snow off of her pants. Jake wandered a little further out onto the patio and turned, and fell over backward. She started moving her arms back and forth to make a snow angel. Hamilton pulled her up and they turned to look at her angel.

“Pretty good.” She said, shivering.

“An angel by an angel.”

She smiled. “God, you are so corny Hamilton.”

He looked a little chagrined, and she laughed. “But that’s why I love you.” she said, and the two headed back inside holding hands.

**

Bella and Jake headed upstairs and returned a few minutes later dressed in pajamas carrying a bunch of blankets.

Jake turned to Finn. “Finn, it is really cold upstairs. Is it OK if we just crash on the sofas down here by the fire?”

Finn smiled. “Sure, no problem.” He was a little unsure about having the girls and guys together, but at least if they were all here, he could keep an eye on them.

Jake tossed Finn a blanket, and she moved over to settle down next to Hamilton again. They snuggled together under a blanket. Scout and Bella did the same on the other couch, and Will pushed two chairs together to make a bed for himself.

“Hey, Scout. Here’s a line: ‘You’re everything I never knew I always wanted.’” Bella’s voice was softer now, as the late hour started to sink in.

She was lying in front of him on the sofa, and she rolled over a little to look up at him.

He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “I have no clue what that is. Did you make that up?”

She laughed. “No, but I wish I had. Fools Rush In.”

“Ok, no fair using bad movies that no one has seen.”

Bella laughed.

“Would you two quiet down? Some of us are trying to sleep.” Will grumbled.

Jake and Hamilton were whispering quietly to each other, but soon their voices faded into slumber.

When the group had been quiet for a few minutes, Finn got up and walked over. He smiled at their innocence in sleep, compared to the gray hair he felt growing after worrying about them all night. He looked back at the chair where he had been sitting, and then at the group, debating whether he should stay with them or trust them to stay sleeping until morning. In the end, he walked over to the table and picked up his book and blanket, blew out the candle, and headed down the hall with a flashlight towards his quarters.

“Is he gone?” Hamilton whispered into Jake’s ear.

“Shhh. Sleeping.” She replied.

He kissed her neck, her earlobe, her cheek. “I just wanted to say goodnight. And that I love you.”

She rolled over to curl up against his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her.

She yawned, and murmured one more phrase before falling back asleep in his arms. “I love you too. And I’m glad we got snowed in together.”

END


End file.
